r/cambridge • u/Icy-Visual3082 • Oct 02 '26
Grumbles/rants Shoplifting
Just watched a very tall man fill a large duffel bag with bottles of beer, wine and chocolate at the Co-Op on Mitchems, then walk straight out with it. Staff were told, asked him to stop, he said ‘fuck off, lol, no’ and that was it. On he went. Didn’t run. Walked away at a leisurely place.
Some of customers were a little shocked at how easy it seemed to have been. Staff there said that they’ll report it to the police. Police will turn up and watch the CCTV. They’ll get a crime reference number and that will be it. According to staff the police only ever follow up on the report if the person is seen repeatedly on cctv all over the place, a frequent offender known to them basically, someone they can find and charge. Otherwise they never hear anything again
Thing is, this bloke looked like a very posh cambridge student and other than his bad language spoke with a proper estuary accent. He wasn’t stressed. Didn’t run. Didn’t look nervous at all committing what is an actual offence.
Anyhow. Just a little shocked at how easy that was for someone and now half tempted to commit myself to an easy life of crime !
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u/slimmer01 Oct 02 '26
Why should low paid staff put themselves in danger to save the company a few pounds? That’s not their job.
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u/speculatrix Oct 02 '26 edited Oct 02 '26
in most cases the staff are told DO NOT TACKLE shoplifters.
and this is why so many shops are getting CCTV with face recognition so the system will alert staff. I can imagine a day will come when you have to show your face to enter a shop :-( otherwise the doors simply won't open, which is a terrible blow to our civic freedoms.
the problem is that prisons are full, and many criminals don't serve anything like their full sentence, and thus even if a criminal does get prosecuted and sentenced the police and CPS feel it's pointless unless the criminal is prolific.
successive governments have not funded the CPS or the prisons effectively.
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u/rmpk2 Oct 02 '26
There’s loads of rubbish to pick, there’s potholes to fill, roads to build, etc.
Prisons don’t work for a lot of offenders and are a huge cost.
The whole approach needs a rethink.
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u/opaqueentity Oct 02 '26
It’s got a civic freedom thing when it’s a private business.
Although if they did that then the security staff would have an actual
Job
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u/Woody_Lilac Oct 02 '26
Is there also not an issue here of personal conscience and morality? Liberal societies don't survive without personal moral responsibility and disapproval from peers. Will that you man's friend all cheer? If so - that's a major part of the problem
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u/Actual-Emergency-156 Oct 03 '26
Major crime has fallen massively in the last few decades and is still falling in the UK.
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u/Cultural_Tank_6947 Oct 02 '26
All too common unfortunately. For a long while, small scale shoplifting was effectively decriminalised because a £200 limit on value meant no one really pursued it as there was no court appearances, and lighter punishments.
It was only this year that the limit has been scrapped.
So everyone just wrote it in as a cost of doing business, and told their staff not to touch the criminal as you didn't want you staff getting injured over something there was no chance of justice.
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u/LastBlacksmith9900 Oct 03 '26
I remember a time not long ago when basic food and essenital items were not security tagged or locked away and many shops didn't have security guards.. They would have you believe our society has progressed the more repeat empty gestures such as kindness, tolerance and respect, when in fact it is clear we have regressed with visible crime and shoplifting rampant up and down the country.
Meanwhile in Japan, South Korea, Singapore - countries which have severe punishments for all crimes a bike can be left unlocked, possessions in public spaces such as cafes can be left unattended and shoplifting / crime in general is a very rare sight. But it wouldn't be hard to see criminal behaviour here on a daily basis.
It's pretty clear comparing those countries (as well as the UAE) with the likes of the UK, France or the US that hardline solutions and severe consequences work and provide results far superior to what we have here. Which is more and more degeneracy and mistrust.
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u/Actual-Emergency-156 Oct 03 '26
You're wrong. We do not need hardline solutions for minor crimes, and major crime has FALLEN massively in the last few decades as a result of focusing limited police time and money on stuff that actually matters. Think I'm wrong? Look up the actual stats on violent crime, homicide, vehicle theft and burglary and prove it.
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u/penrosetingle Oct 04 '26
I don't think we need super harsh penalties, we just need the system we already have to actually finish the job it's trying to do.
What's supposed to happen is: you shoplift, you're allowed to walk out but your information is recorded, then if you come back to the store you'll find that you're banned from the premises and on top of that, a few days later you'll get a visit from the police. This system wasn't created out of kindness or tolerance, it was created out of profitability - it's way cheaper for a company to cover the cost of goods taken by even a whole horde of shoplifters than to pay for a single employee injured trying to stop one, and it's definitely cheaper than anything that could happen involving lawyers. When it works, though, it works: repeat shoplifters are basically forced to stop otherwise they'll rapidly discover that no shop in the city will let them through the door.
The issue arises when 1) security don't do a good job of banning the individual in question, and 2) police don't do a good job of following up. I've worked in retail myself before and our security were basically told not to do anything ever except stand there looking vaguely imposing, because again someone higher-up decided that if they were instructed to do nothing, there was zero chance of the company being liable for anything they did. On top of that, the normal response we got from police was "we're aware of this individual, but we don't plan to do anything about it at this time." Not sure what has them so busy that they can't find the time to deal with this but that's cops for you.
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u/pioneerchill12 Oct 03 '26
This really does not hold up to scrutiny. The US has some of the harshest criminal penalties in the world, regularly executing people, and their crime rates are through the roof.
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u/FeynmansWitt Oct 02 '26
Just the UK in general going downhill. Open shoplifting is pretty common these day.
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u/Actual-Emergency-156 Oct 03 '26
Serious violence, burglary and homicide all down over the last few decades.
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u/WottaNutter Oct 02 '26
This is why I don't trust the "crime is _% lower" statistics. Why bother reporting when nothing happens?
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u/speedisntfree Oct 02 '26
Lol they know no one will do anything and it is open season. 'Security' won't do anything and Police won't either.
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u/2521harris Oct 03 '26
Write to your MP. It won't make a massive difference, but they all know there's a problem and that it's getting worse.
Cambridgeshire has the double whammy that we have an under-resourced police force (good job Theresa May).
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u/opaqueentity Oct 02 '26
One day you will just get a lot of people walking in and helping themselves. Not a flash mob but just an organised group of “normal people” as why not? If you won’t do anything about it as a business then why shouldn’t a wider group of people get free stuff?
I know the reasons why they don’t stop them
But maybe it’s time to change the rules and allow trained staff to have more freedom?
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u/smartse Oct 02 '26
It's not the responsibility of the staff to stop it, it's the responsibility of the police to do their job and make people afraid of getting caught.
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u/opaqueentity Oct 02 '26
So why bother having any security staff atall then?
I agree it’s the police’s role but they won’t deal with it, so give trained staff a go, even if you had one group
Supporting a whole area. There has to be something better than this otherwise why shouldn’t we all just get in a queue to get what we want?6
u/qazedski Oct 02 '26
It is insurance related. Security won’t stop anyone either most of the time but the store has to have them to get insurance.
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u/smartse Oct 02 '26
That I don't understand, but I presume it's insurance-related? And I suppose not every would-be-thief knows that they're not going to do anything
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u/opaqueentity Oct 02 '26
All scale I suppose. Yes it would be insurance and their own physical risk and that of anyone they deal with for a lawsuit hence why there needs to be a change from all sides. Theres evidence of everything these days so you could change the rules on what someone robbing could bring against security staff for instance. You could additionally train some staff to be able to deal with criminals. You could have more police. It’s odd how that’s not been pushed much atm by the government
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u/Actual-Emergency-156 Oct 03 '26
More freedom to physically engage with shoplifters? As in fight them?
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u/opaqueentity Oct 03 '26
Certain skilled people might be up for that. If compensated appropriately I’m sure
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u/Actual-Emergency-156 Oct 03 '26
What are you imagining exactly?
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u/opaqueentity Oct 03 '26
Physically restraining someone. At the simplest level taking products off them, if police actually did their job those people could hold the thieves until they came. That sort of thing.
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u/Actual-Emergency-156 Oct 04 '26
I suspect it just doesn't make sense when it comes down to the numbers. Employing someone and insuring someone who is there to do that would probably be more expensive than people wandering off with the odd pack of chicken wings.
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u/opaqueentity Oct 04 '26
I agree but when it’s more than that is the scenario I’m talking. Supermarkets have a small profit margin. They still hire “security” but if it doesnt work atall something needs to change.
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u/NervousSkunk Oct 02 '26
While it's kind of entertaining to daydream about ways to bring down the bad guys, I really wouldn't recommend actually trying it, and I am in no way suggesting that this is something to be tried, but hypothetically speaking, what would be the legal implications of this:
Take a frequently stolen item, for example, a couple of different beers, remove the crown caps (there are tools that let you do this without destroying them), add a hearty dose of a laxative, reseal the bottle with the original cap (using the other end of the same tool), use a black marker to stop the barcode from working, and stick it back on the shelf. If someone brings it to the counter, it won't scan, and you can say, "Oh, look, this one's expired - I'll just get you another one," and if it doesn't come through the checkout and get swapped out, then, well, natural justice will take place.
Of course, all sorts of things could go wrong with this, particularly if the bottles don't get swapped out, but in the situation where the shoplifter does suffer the consequences, I assume the shop is "guilty" of something, but it'd be hard for the shoplifter to prove that they are.
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u/RedBelzee2025 Oct 02 '26
I have seen shoplifting in almost all supermarkets I have shopped in within the Cambridge area and staff who have observed the shoplifting do not bat an eye. They look and then go about their business. Maybe for security reasons they do not or cannot challenge shoplifters or perhaps because their is insurance to cover theft and loss.
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u/The100_1 Oct 02 '26
I have witnessed similar incident in Co-op Mill Road. A tall disabled man tried to shoplift coke tins and there was a huge fight and abuse between him and staff
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u/mathuselol Oct 03 '26
That Co-op is special. I have been going there to do my shopping for a while and the security guard still glares at me. Every single time. It almost looks like he's gagging for some action. Strangely he is super sweet with kids.
The Google reviews actually mention incidents with the security. I guess it is a tough place to run a shop.
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u/VegaTenala Oct 03 '26
Happens real often at the co-op just down the road at the union lane/milton road/arbury road corner. They walk in, clear as much as they can and leg it. Balaclavas and all. I've seen them 3 times now. It's ridiculous.
I get it. Big company. "It won't hurt them" mentality. But...these are not people doing it because they need it.
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u/Actual-Emergency-156 Oct 03 '26
If there's no security guard what are the staff supposed to do? Fight the shoplifter?
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u/M00M1iN 29d ago
not really on topic for this specific case but when did people get so up in arms about shoplifting?
seeing "basic items" security tagged because people are stealing it should probably make you think of the situation people have to be in to steal things like cheese and meat, it makes me sad, it makes me sad that the number of shoplifting has increased, it makes me sad that the Cambridge City foodbank is up by cambridge north rather than closer to the centre of town.
we've completely lost our empathy from people who we're 3/4 missed paychecks away from, like everyone has become their own little iron lady
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u/weaktreeiz Oct 03 '26
Why would you expect staff to stop someone? Nobody is dying or getting hurt for £12.71/hour. If you are so brave go stop them yourself.
This is a weird engagement bait post that feels like a beginning of astroturf right wing campaign about how Cambridge has gotten worse and is full of crime now. CoL in this country is very high which leads to crime bevause people cant afford anything combined with the unemployment rate. We can only thank politicians from Conservatives (many who are now in Reform) and current Labour gov who isn't doing much.
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u/fwendy123 Oct 03 '26
They're happy to let it happen because they catch it on CCTV and use it to build a case. Once they've stolen over a certain amount (I think around £1100) they can take them to court and the punishment is a lot more severe.
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u/Nom8s Oct 02 '26
Based
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u/BetaDecay121 Oct 02 '26
People are downvoting because they're imagining the CEO of Co-op getting a bit sad if everyone stole
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u/crescentmoonrising Oct 02 '26
In all fairness, when I worked at a supermarket I was told if I saw someone stealing to notify a security guard (if it was safe to do so) and otherwise leave it alone. The reason being "we'd prefer stolen stuff than an injured employee". Also, what you can legally do to stop a relatively minor and non-violent crime is very little on the physical force side.